Stabbings investigated as possible hate crimes after NYC Pride weekend
NEW YORK CITY -- A second bias stabbing in the hours after New York City's Pride weekend is now under investigation by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force.
A suspect stabbed a 29-year-old man on a subway train packed with Pride revelers after taunting them with anti-gay slurs.
When the victim got on the train at the 23 Street station in Chelsea, the suspect was already taunting riders in the car, packed with Pride revelers, with anti-gay statements.
The victim sat across from the suspect and crossed his legs, resulting in the suspect taunting him and using an anti-gay slur.
A verbal dispute escalated into a fight, which spilled onto the platform when the train stopped at Penn Station.
When the victim got back onto the train, he realized he was bleeding and had been stabbed.
The man took himself to Mount Sinai West with wounds to the left side of his chest and torso.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating that incident, along with another stabbing that took place on Sunday around 8:45 p.m. at St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island.
ALSO READ | 20-year-old returning home from Pride festivities stabbed at Staten Island Ferry Terminal
People heading home from Pride events in Manhattan say they intervened after seeing a woman being harassed.
It ended with a 20-year-old man getting stabbed in the shoulder and also called the f word.
47-year-old Eric Shields of Norfolk, Virginia was arrested.
Eyewitness News spoke to that stabbing victim.
"Glad to be home, the other guy is where he should be," said Dylan Spinoza. "It's upsetting. I don't understand how people can think they are above somebody else."
"I'm very proud of him for helping somebody," said Dylan's mother, Marisa Spinoza. "I was worried when it happened, because these days you don't know what people have with them."
Authorities say the suspect, Eric Shields, is no stranger to police.
He was charged with assault, weapons possession, menacing, and harassment.
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